Thursday's local men's college basketball roundup: Norfolk State completes 16-0 MEAC regular season

Norfolk State became just the fourth men’s basketball team to complete Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference regular-season play unbeaten, completing a 16-0 league schedule with a 55-48 victory Thursday over North Carolina A&T at Echols Hall.

A year after stunning No. 2 seed Missouri in the NCAA tournament’s round of 64, NSU rebuilt its lineup without star center Kyle O’Quinn — who now plays for the NBA’s Orlando Magic — and several other key contributors, struggling against a tough non-conference schedule.

But the Spartans bounced back, including in several close MEAC games that tested them, for their first regular-season title as a Division I team. Now they’ll go for a repeat tournament championship — this time in their hometown Scope.

Big South quarterfinals

Virginia Military Institute won a 90-86 thriller against Longwood to advance to the Big South Conference tournament semifinals in Conway, S.C.

Longwood (8-25), led by Swiss freshman Michael Kessens -- who scored a tournament-record 36 points and grabbed 16 rebounds -- trailed by 17 points with less than 12 minutes remaining but narrowed the gap to two late in the game.

But VMI (14-16) survived behind 31 points and nine rebounds from Big South Player of the Year Stan Okoye, 26 points from Norfolk Academy graduate D.J. Covington and 22 points and six assists from Rodney Glasgow.

The Keydets earned the right to play in Friday's first semifinal against Charleston Southern (18-11), which ousted Winthrop 54-47 earlier in the day behind Mathiang Muo's 15 points.

In the bracket’s other half, Liberty built a 20-point lead and held on to oust High Point 61-60.

Tavares Speaks had 17 points, Davon Marshall 16 and John Caleb Sanders 12 for the Flames (13-20), who opened with a 9-0 lead and never trailed.

High Point (17-13), got 17 points from Allan Chaney -- who has recovered from the heart issues that plagued his time at Virginia Tech -- and 13 from Dejuan McGaughy.

The Panthers' Adam Weary drove for a potential winning shot, but whether it came before the final buzzer or not, it missed.

The Flames next will play Gardner-Webb (21-11), which beat Campbell 71-57 as Tashan Newsome scored 15.

The Big South winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.